Years ago for Sunday, May 05, 2013

May 2, 2013 at 12:02 a.m.

1913

May 5 - Ugh! Holy Moses, what'll happen next? Has that sea monster got designs on Victoria? Or did it get wind of the danger that awaited it at the Southern Pacific bridge and the electric power plant where plans had been perfected for its capture? Why did it desert the water? Why take to land, for goodness sake? Was this sudden change of movement prompted by big, tenacious frogs Sunday? These are the questions that are being asked today by scores of people who witnessed the strange antics of the monster and its reptile enemies, two mammoth frogs.

May 6 - There was considerable excitement on the arrival of the San Antonio train today when the Filipino midgets stepped off the train. These tiny mites of humanity are without a doubt the smallest adults alive. The little lady is only 21 inches high and is aged 36 years. Her brother, Juan, is 24 inches tall and is 32 years old. These little people have been received in the White House by ex-President Taft. The midgets will open their engagement in Victoria this evening at 7 o'clock.

May 8 - The Victoria Fire Department held its annual celebration yesterday. The celebration was pronounced by many the grandest ever in the history of Victoria, and the number of visitors in attendance was probably the largest this city has ever entertained upon any occasion. The day was ideal. The most attractive feature of the pageant was the monster fish and frogs mounted on J.F. McCan's automobile. These were the demons of the sea that the Advocate has published about from time to time and which excited so much interest in the celebration and so much alarm among those who did not have any idea that it had any connection with the celebration.

Mr. McCan originated the idea, and L.M. Stevens assisted him in constructing the float. J.T. Land was the author of the clever fish stories, and it was the publicity work by him through these columns that accomplished so much toward the success of the celebration. The reproduction of the fish in the parade was about 34 feet long, and was a frightful looking monster, detailed artistically by Mrs. McCan, who is an artist of note; Max Edwards and Claude McCan's little son played the part of the frogs. The fish will be conveyed by boat to Galveston for the forthcoming celebration there.

1938

May 10 - From high officials of the Post Office Department have come personal letters commending Postmaster Leopold Morris of Victoria for the cleverness and originality of his plans for the observance of National Air Week, May 15 to 21. The local postmaster said the special efforts are due to the fact that former Second Assistant Postmaster General Otto Praeger, now a resident of San Diego, Calif., who inaugurated the first air mail service, was born in Victoria.

1963

May 7 - Five Patti Welder Junior High pupils and one Victoria High industrial arts student won places last weekend, including two firsts, at the state-wide Industrial Arts Fair held at Texas A&M College. First place awards went to Patti Welder's Travis Calihan in eighth grade wood-turning and to Louis Ramirez in the eighth grade woodwork. Second place honors were won by Wayne Bastian in eighth grade woodwork and William Parkinson on ninth grade sheetmetal work. Third place awards were captured by David Lemke in eighth grade woodwork (small projects) and Elmer Slayden of Victoria High in tenth grade woodwork.

1988

May 9 - The Victoria Symphony Orchestra concluded its 14th season with a Saturday evening performance of music ranging from delicate interplay between clarinet and bassoon to the simulated cannon fire ending the famous "1812" overture.

The marathon program of symphonic showpieces included Richard Wagner's overture to "The Flying Dutchman," George Gershwin's "An American in Paris," Richard Strauss's "Duet Concerto," Igor Stravinsky's "Petroushka," and the bombastic "Overture 1812, Op. 49" of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky.

Richard Wagner's tempestuous overture opened the concert. This program piece describes the ordeal of the Flying Dutchman having to perpetually sail the seas until he is finally saved by the love of a woman. The horns and bassoons first announced the Flying Dutchman motif with the allegro accompaniment of the orchestra. The brass section shone as it developed the motif while the intense swirling of the strings depicted a raging sea storm.

May 10 - One of the best programs in the nation for gifted and talented students exists in the Victoria public schools, an international expert on teaching the gifted said Tuesday.

"I really firmly believe they represent a precious resource," said Dr. Irving Sato, Los Angeles-based director of the National/State Leadership Training Institute on the Gifted and Talented, "and they are among the most neglected in education."

It is from the ranks of the nation's gifted and talented pupils today that the inventors, statesmen, executives, authors and artists of the year 2000 will emerge, he pointed out.

Victoria's public school system, by creating a comprehensive gifted and talented program nearly 10 years ago, has developed further than many places in the nation, said Sato.

The director said that as he travels around the country advising school districts, he's often asked to point to an "ideal gifted and talented" program. Although he doesn't believe in an unobtainable ideal, he said he often points to Victoria ISD as one of the best in the nation.

Encompass, a comprehensive curriculum spanning first through twelfth grades for the gifted, was developed by VISD with Sato's help over the years. Nearing completion within the next two years, it is a benchmark of achievement for other districts to emulate, trustees were told.

Sato explained that the gifted have been neglected in education due to the myth that they can always achieve on their own.

"The mentally retarded have received the attention," Sato pointed out. "But the top five percent, the gifted, have needs that also must be met."

Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein are often cited as examples of gifted individuals who succeeded without doing well in school. But those two great minds are the exception to the rule.

May 11 - Four Victoria school trustees voted Monday night to certify canvassing of votes from Saturday's election of two trustees.

The canvassing had been conducted earlier in the day by Nell Knight, superintendent's secretary, and other election officials in the Education Center's board room.

Voting to certify Dale Hunt as the winner in District 4, with 670 votes, and Theresa Gutierrez as the winner in District 2, with 280 votes, were trustees Gary Mueller, James Murphy, Johnny Wilson and Mrs. Gutierrez. Wilson lost to Hunt in the District 4 race.